Picture this ...

Some time in the early to mid 1980's and I'm in Elementary School. I don't remember what I had on (probably my super cool Statue of Liberty costume, that would figure), but what I do remember thinking I looked pretty righteous walking around town, begging for the candy on Halloween night. My parents would drive us around, dump us off at one end of the block and pick us up at the other.

This night, though, my dad waited until the very last to take us to our teacher's house. There were three single guys who had taken over a house on Nebraska Ave. and had made it into their bachelor pad.

And God, they were always pulling pranks. Once, they'd taken my aunt's red VW bug and put it up on cylinder blocks in the car wash. And this Halloween night, I remember my dad pulling up in front and laughing. My little brother and I didn't get the joke. And oh, are the signs SO CLEAR to me now ....

We walk up to a dark house on Halloween night. The lights are not on. I vaguely remember getting to the front step, turning around to tell my parents that nobody was home about the time the coldest water on EARTH was unleashed on us. And from the rooftop, I saw my three teachers, armed with garden hoses, spraying the trick or treater's and laughing their asses off.

I remember my little brother getting supremely pissed at the entire situation. He hadn't busted ass all night to get drenched. I remember him insisting they give us candy, to 'come down here now!'. I watched him attempt to bust into their house and get the candy his own damn self, soaked Halloween costume or not. I remember one of the teachers coming down, laughing hysterically, and handing us a lot of candy for our troubles.

This story came up last night, because one of the teachers I mentioned is now a coach for a men's college basketball team that played two nights ago during March Madness. They didn't win, and were a big underdog, which was really a huge bummer. I would have loved to have seen the upset.

But really, how remarkable to start out as a small town high school basketball/baseball coach, a PE and math teacher on the side and end up winning Coach of the Year for your Division, and playing in March Madness?

Pretty freaking cool.

Edit: My elementary school BFF is Lizard, and while we were chatting about how cool this all was, she reminded me a few more stories about Coach involving a dodgeball, a brick wall, and a kid with head tic who moved his head into the wrong position at the wrong time. Still laughing my ass off about that. And yes, I'm securing my spot in Hell, I'm sure. I'll save you a seat.

Labels: basketball, Halloween, memories